Method for providing bag-like packages of disposable absorbent articles with bags for the temporary keeping of used articles

ABSTRACT

A method for providing bag-like packaging units (4) for receiving absorbent disposable articles, such as incontinence guards, sanitary napkins and diapers, with bags (5) in which used articles can be kept temporarily. According to the invention, the packaging unit is provided with a pocket (7, 9) into which the bags (5) are inserted prior to filling the packaging unit with absorbent particles. The present invention also relates to a packaging unit with which the method can be carried out.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for providing bag-likepackages of disposable absorbent articles, such as incontinence guards,sanitary napkins and diapers, with bags in which used articles can bekept temporarily. The invention also relates to a packaging unit for usewhen carrying out the method.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the case of known packaging units of this kind, the bags intended forused articles are inserted in a so-called envelope which is inserted inthe packaging unit at the same time as the articles are inserted. Thiscomplicates article packaging procedures and will often result inbreakdowns in operation. Furthermore, it is necessary to adapt thepackaging equipment so as to enable the envelope to be inserted, whichcomplicates the equipment and leads to higher costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to avoid theaforesaid drawbacks and to provide an operationally reliable method ofproviding packaging units for disposable absorbent articles with bags inwhich used articles can be kept temporarily.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention by means of amethod according to the aforesaid kind which is characterized byproviding the packaging unit with a pocket, and by inserting the bagsinto the pocket prior to filling the packaging unit with articles. Bothof these processes can be optimized, by separating the bag insertionprocess from the article insertion process, therewith resulting in fewerbreakdowns in operation in total, at the same time as the separateprocesses are less complicated, and therewith also more cost-effectivethan the known method, in which the bags are inserted into the packagingunit at the same time as the articles are inserted.

According to one preferred embodiment, the pocket is given generally thesame dimensions as the dimensions of one side of the packaging unit.This facilitates insertion of articles into a packaging unit in whichbags have already been inserted.

According to another embodiment, according to which the packaging unitis opened prior to inserting the articles by lifting one side of thepackaging unit in relation to its opposing side, the pocket is placed onthat side of the packaging unit which is lifted for insertion ofarticles into the packaging unit, or on the side that lies opposite tothis side.

The bags may also be inserted into the packaging unit in conjunctionwith its manufacture.

The present invention also relates to a bag-like packaging unit for thepackaging of disposable absorbent articles, such as incontinence guards,sanitary napkins and diapers, said unit including two large mutuallyopposing sides which are inter-joined by two mutually opposing shortsides and a bottom, characterized in that one of the two large sidesincludes a pocket which extends from the bottom towards the opening ofthe packaging unit over at least half the length of said large side andinto which there is inserted a given number of bags intended for thetemporary keeping of used articles. A packaging unit of this designfacilitates the insertion of articles and bags into the unit.

According to one preferred embodiment of the inventive packaging unit,the pocket extends over essentially the whole of said large side and isplaced on the inside of said large side of the packaging unit. Aninformation folder or the like is also inserted in the pocket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in more detail with referenceaccompanying drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of part of a bag-filling apparatus towhich empty bag-like packaging units are delivered;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, wherein a bag-containing envelopeinserted into the packaging units;

FIG. 3 a view similar to FIG. 1, in which packaging units constructed inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention are delivered to saidapparatus;

FIG. 4 illustrates schematically a filling apparatus to which apackaging unit constructed in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention is delivered;

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrate schematically the insertion of disposableabsorbent articles into one such packaging unit; and

FIG. 7 illustrates schematically a step in the manufacture of apackaging unit constructed in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically and in side view part of a packagingunit filling apparatus to which empty bag-like packaging units 1 aredelivered, said units being threaded onto two upstanding pins 2 on thefilling apparatus, of which only one pin is shown in the Figure. Thebag-like packaging units are filled by lifting the upper side of apackaging unit 1, as seen in the Figure, with the aid of a suction cupor some like device for instance, whereafter the articles to be insertedinto the packaging unit are brought, in some suitable manner, to aposition opposite the packaging opening formed by lifting said upperside of the packaging unit, and then inserted into said unit. The filledpackaging unit, i.e. the package, is released from the pins 2 and movedto one side, and the upper side of the previously underlying packagingunit is lifted and the next stack of articles is inserted into the unit.The packaging units located on the pins 2 are thus filled one after theother. This method of filling packaging units has been well tested andhas proven to be reliable in practice.

In known methods of introducing into the packaging unit bags that areintended for keeping used articles temporarily, an envelope whichcontains a given number of such bags is inserted into the packaging unitat the same time as the articles are inserted. This method greatlycomplicates the filling process, because the envelopes must be deliveredto the stack of articles to be inserted into the packaging unit andretained relative to said stack during the initial part of the packagingprocedure. The process is further complicated because, for spacereasons, absorbent sanitary articles are often packed while in acompressed state, which places relatively high demands on the precisionof the equipment used to guide the article stack and the bag-containingenvelope during the initial stage of inserting the stack and theenvelope into the packaging unit. There is thus a need of simplifyingthe known method in which packaging units of this kind are provided withsuch bags.

FIG. 2 illustrates the configuration of the packaging units 1 threadedon the pins 2, wherein the known envelope 3 containing a specific numberof bags has been inserted earlier into the packaging units. It will beseen that the conventional method of inserting articles into thepackaging units 1 cannot be applied readily in the case of suchpackaging procedures.

FIG. 3 illustrates packaging units 4 constructed in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention and threaded on the pins 2 of the fillingapparatus, said packaging units containing a specific number of bags ina bundle 5. As will be seen from the Figure, the bundle 5 has a largeextension in a direction corresponding to the direction in which thearticles are inserted, i.e. from the left to the right in FIG. 3. Thetop and bottom sides of the packaging units 4 in the stack of unitsfitted on the pins 2 will thereby extend parallel with the articleinsertion direction, which is important with regard to disturbance-freeoperation of the filling apparatus. The outward extension of the bundle5 as seen in the insertion direction will therefore preferably at leastexceed half the extension of the packaging unit in said direction. Thebundle 5 will preferably have essentially the same dimensions as the topand bottom sides of the packaging unit 4.

A preferred embodiment of the packaging unit 4 is shown schematically inFIG. 4. As will be seen from this Figure, the packaging unit 4 includestwo mutually opposing large sides, a bottom side 6 and a top side 7,which are mutually connected by a bottom 8 and two mutually opposingshort sides (not shown in the Figure). The packaging unit also includesa sheet 9 which has generally the same dimensions as the top side 7 andwhich is placed beneath said top side and fastened thereto along itsside edges and at an end edge which is distal from the bottom 8. Abundle 5 of bags is placed in the pocket thus formed.

It is pointed out in this regard that the above defined sides of thepackaging unit are not always found in the case of an empty, flatpackaging unit, for instance when the packaging unit is formed fromplastic sheets which are placed one upon the other in a flat state andjoined together along opposing long edges and one transverse edge.Consequently, the dimensions recited in respect of the sides of thepackaging unit relate to the configuration of a filled packaging unit.

FIG. 4 also illustrates schematically a pin 2, a suction cup 10 and aninfeeder 11 included in the filling apparatus. When inserting absorbentarticles into the packaging unit 4, the suction cup 10 lifts the upperpart of the packaging unit to the position shown in FIG. 4, therewithforming an opening 12, said upper part including the sheet 9, the bundle5 and the top side 7 of the unit. At the same time, the infeeder 11 iswithdrawn to the left in FIGS. 4-6, so as to provide room for two stacks13, 14 of articles which are to be inserted into the packaging unit 4.After having brought the article stacks 13, 14 in front of the opening12 in some suitable manner, the infeeder 11 is moved from left to rightin the Figure so as to push the article stacks into the packaging unit,as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. Those parts of the top and bottom sidesof the packaging unit which project outwardly of the inserted stacks 13,14 are then folded in against one another and joined together in somesuitable manner, for instance by means of a weld join 15. The packagingunit, or rather the package, will then have the configuration shown inFIG. 6.

According to one variant of the described method, the empty packagingunits are placed in a box or like receptacle, from which they are liftedand placed onto a vacuum transporter which transports single emptypackaging units to a filling station, in which the empty packaging unitsare filled with articles and sealed in the aforedescribed manner.

FIG. 7 illustrates schematically a packaging unit constructed inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention and shows said unit in astage of manufacture. The Figure shows three plastic sheets A, B and Cwhich are brought together, as indicated by the arrows, and mutuallyjoined at their edge parts. In this way, there is formed a bag-likepackaging unit which includes an upper pocket for receiving a bundle ofbags. A bag bundle is placed in the formed pocket in a following stageof manufacture. According to one preferred variant, a folder or likedevice carrying information is placed in the pocket together with thebags. The folder is conveniently made of a stiffer material than theplastic material from which the bags are preferably made, therebyfacilitating insertion of the bundle of bags. The part C is providedwith a recess 16, with the intention of facilitating removal of bagsfrom the packaging unit. The dimensions of the top and bottom sides of afilled packaging unit, or package, are indicated in broken lines in theFigure.

The invention thus provides a method in which the bags are inserted intothe packaging unit prior to inserting articles thereinto. This enablesexisting packaging equipment to be used to introduce articles into thepackaging unit without requiring the equipment to be modified, which isadvantageous from the aspects of operational reliability and cost.Because the packaging unit includes a separate bag receiving space inthe form of said pocket, the prior insertion of the bags will notdisturb the subsequent insertion of the articles. Furthermore, theinventive packaging unit enables the filling apparatus to be simplified,because the pocket is given essentially the same transverse dimensionsas that side of the packaging unit which is lifted to form theunit-filling opening, and because the bag bundle inserted into thepocket can be imparted such rigidity, for instance with the aid of aninformation folder, that when exerting a lifting force on one point ofthe pocket the entire transverse-edge part of the pocket will be lifterand therewith the whole of the upper large side of the packaging unit.

It will be understood that the described and illustrated exemplifyingembodiments of the invention can be modified in many ways within thescope of the invention. For instance, the package can be constructed byplacing bundles of bags intermittently on a first moving web of plasticmaterial, and then placing on the first web a second web of plasticmaterial whose width while being smaller than the width of the first webis slightly greater than the width of a bag bundle, and then fasteningthe second web to the first web along their longitudinal edges. Thecomposite web formed by the two first and second webs and the row ofintermediate bag bundles is then placed on a third web of plasticmaterial whose width is the same as the width of the first web, and thelong edges of the first and the third web are then joined together.Finally the three webs are joined together by means of joining lineswhich extend transversely between adjacent bag bundles, whereafter thepackages constructed in accordance with the invention are cut from thecontinuous three-layer web by transverse cuts in the proximity of thetransverse joining lines. The inventive packaging unit can also beproduced by placing a bag bundle on an elongated piece of plastic andplacing a plastic sheet on top of the bag bundle and fastening theplastic sheet to said piece of plastic along three edges, and thereafterfolding the elongated piece of plastic beneath the bag bundle in asingle fold, such that its long edges will coincide, whereafter the longedges are joined together. The inventive packages may also be providedconveniently with appropriate tear lines, to facilitate opening of aclosed package. The pocket formed in the packaging unit may also beprovided with tear lines of this kind, particularly when the pocket isclosed in conjunction with manufacturing the packaging unit or package.Such tear lines will preferably be provided in the bottom of thepackaging unit to be filled, and the inwardly folded part of the top andbottom sides of the packaging unit shown in FIG. 6 thus form the bottompart of a closed packaging unit, or package, whereas the illustratedbottom 8 forms the openable top part of a filled packaging unit. In thecase of the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4-6, the pocket is providedwithin the actual packaging space of the packaging unit, although itwill be understood that the pocket may be provided on the outside of thepackaging unit instead. Furthermore, the pocket may be joined to thebottom large side of the packaging unit instead of to the other largeside thereof, which is the case in the illustrated embodiment.

It will therefore also be understood that the invention is restrictedsolely by the contents of the following claims.

We claim:
 1. A method for providing a packaging unit containingabsorbent disposable articles selected from the group consisting ofincontinence guards, sanitary napkins and diapers, and also bags inwhich used articles can be kept temporarily, the packaging unitincluding an infeed opening, a first large side and a mutually opposingsecond large side, which are joined together by two mutually opposingshort sides, and a bottom, the method comprising: providing the firstlarge side of the unit with a pocket which extends from the infeedopening towards the bottom, the end of the pocket turned against thebottom being open, and giving the pocket as seen in the direction forinsertion of the articles a length which at least exceeds half thelength of the first large side, inserting the bags into said pocket, andthereafter introducing said articles into the unit.
 2. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising giving the pocket substantiallythe same dimensions as one side of the packaging unit.
 3. A methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising opening the unit prior toinserting the articles into said unit, by lifting one side of the unitin relation to the opposing side thereof, and placing the pocket on thatside of the packaging unit which is lifted when inserting articles intosaid, unit.
 4. A method according to claim 1, further comprising openingthe unit prior to inserting the articles into the packaging unit, bylifting one side of said unit in relation to the opposing side thereof,and placing the pocket on that side of the packaging unit which liesopposite to the side that is lifted when inserting articles into saidunit.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the bags are insertedinto the packaging unit in conjunction with the manufacture of saidunit.
 6. A packaging unit for disposable absorbent articles selectedfrom the group consisting of incontinence guards, sanitary napkins anddiapers, the packaging unit comprising: an infeed opening, a first largeside and a mutually opposing second large side which are joined togetherby two mutually opposing short sides and a bottom, wherein the firstlarge side is provided with a pocket which extends from the infeedopening towards the bottom of the packaging unit at least along half thelength of the first large side, the end of the pocket turned against thebottom being open, and wherein the pocket contains a specific number ofbags in which used articles can be kept temporarily.
 7. A packaging unitaccording to claim 6, wherein the pocket has generally the samedimensions as the first large side of the packaging unit.
 8. A packagingunit according to claim 6, wherein the pocket is placed on the inside ofone of the large sides of the packaging unit.
 9. A packaging unitaccording to claim 6, wherein the pocket is placed on the outside of oneof the large sides of the packaging unit.
 10. A packaging unit accordingto claim 6, further comprising an information folder inserted in thepocket.